Arthritis Osteoarthritis Flare Up

Arthritits weather arthritis

So. does weather affect arthritisé The surprisinganswer next. Weather may. or may not affect arthritissymptoms One of the most controversial topics in arthritisis this. Does weather affect symptomsé Well maybe we have an answer to this perplexingissue. Nancy Walsh writing in her blog on Medscape reported on a Dutch study of 712survey participants who were residents of Germany, Italy, U.K., the Netherlands, Spain,and Sweden. a variety of climates. Patients' mean age was 73 years, 72% werewomen, and 67% considered themselves to be quot;weather sensitive.quot;When the researchers compared the weathersensitive

patients with those who didn't consider themselvessensitive, they found that women, the less educated, and more anxious and depressed patientswere more often sensitive. Weathersensitive individuals also had lessof a sense of mastery over their lives. Among the 469 individuals who considered themselvesweather sensitive, almost 40% said damp and rainy conditions worsened their symptoms,30% said only cold bothered them, and 5% said hot weather was worse for their pain. Smallnumbers reported increased pain with both hot and cold weather, or to rain and coldand heat. Interestingly, the percentage of patientswho were weather sensitive was highest in

warm, dry climates like Spain and Italy (77%)and lowest in the cold, wet climate of Sweden (57%). In addition, residents of warm, dryclimates reported more intense joint pain than those in cold, wet climates.Possible explanations suggested by Erik Timmermans, the lead author, included the biologic:quot;Changes in temperature and humidity may influence the expansion and contraction of differenttissues in the affected joint, which may elicit a pain response. In addition, low temperaturesmay increase the viscosity of synovial fluid, thereby making joints stiffer and perhapsmore sensitive to the pain of mechanical stresses.quot; The exposure theory:quot;The climates in both Mediterranean countries

are warmer compared to the climate in Sweden.As a result, older people with osteoarthritis in Italy and Spain may be more often outsidecompared to those in Sweden. As a consequence, they may be more aware of the effect of weatheron their pain and are more likely to report weather sensitivity.quot;And the mind: quot;The disease course of osteoarthritis is oftencharacterized by a low level or absence of symptoms with periods of flareup or exacerbation.The uncertainty about the recurrence of pain may lead to anxiety in people with osteoarthritisand this might encourage the desire to have an explanation for the worsening of theirpain.quot;

In any case, quot;the common belief that jointpain in osteoarthritis becomes worse by living in a cold and damp climate is not supportedby our results,quot; they stated. They concluded that ians' appreciationof older patients' potential weather sensitivity wherever they live may be key. quot;Earlytreatment of weathersensitive individuals with osteoarthritis using cognitive and psychologicalinterventions may reduce suffering and may help them to maintain a functionally effectivelifestyle,quot; they concluded. Comment: So there it is. your answer.

The primary purpose of a website disclaimer is to limit or attempt to limit the liabilities that a website owner or publisher may suffer arising out of the website. Examples of the kinds of liability that we publishers must contend with include libel/defamation, copyright infringement and breach of privacy. Most legal systems strictly control the effects of limitations and exclusions of liability. For this reason you should take local legal advice if you believe you may have to rely upon the limits of liability in our free website disclaimer document.